The disc in Decca’s The Singers series devoted to Belgian soprano Suzanne Danco differs from most of its companions in that it’s a delight from
Berlioz’s Lélio actually is a compilation of previously composed pieces, linked by narration into a quasi-dramatic framework. The sole protagonist is Lélio, formerly known as
Hard to believe, but it’s been more than three decades since the fabled Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra took Mahler’s Second Symphony into the studio, and a
It’s good to have Vladimir Ashkenazy’s lone disc of Prokofiev solo works for Decca (recorded in 1967) beautifully refurbished. The 30-year-old pianist took a less
Beginning with his early decisions regarding the course of his vocal development and running through his selection of roles, repertoire, and recording programs, countertenor Andreas
Some boilerplate first, just in case you’re new to Decca’s The Singers series. Each disc is housed in an attractive cardboard cover–goodbye and good riddance,
Mario del Monaco was a leading tenore di forza in the 1950s, before the breed became extinct. Some dismissed him as a stentorian blaster unable
Gundula Janowitz was admired for her pure, silvery tones–but alas, that considerable virtue isn’t enough to sustain interest throughout a 73-minute-long disc that induces boredom
An idiomatic sense of style and a very fine ear have kept these performances before an admiring public for more than four decades in some
It would be interesting to know, purely from the standpoint of understanding pathological phenomena, what (if any) criteria were used to choose the selections on